One of the simplest study designs is giving participants — with a headache, for example — an active pill or placebo at random and then observing their outcome of cured or not cured one hour later. Studies with such short time frames are rare, and meaningful outcomes, such as disease or death, often need to be followed up long after the initial contact, potentially decades later.
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Series Editors
John R Attia
Michael P Jones
Adrian Barnett is supported by a National Health Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellowship (APP1117784).
No relevant disclosures.